37% of Asia-Pacific CEOs plan expansion beyond core sectors

THIRTY-SEVEN percent of Asia-Pacific chief executive officers (CEOs) plan to enter new industries such as technology, health services, wealth management, logistics, retail, and manufacturing over the next three years, PwC’s 29^th Global CEO Survey showed.

Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines Chairman and Senior Partner Roderick Danao said global megatrends, including technological disruptions, climate change, fracturing geopolitics, and declining trust in institutions, are driving companies to explore new sectors for growth.

“What consumers and stakeholders need and how they want those needs met are changing. The pattern is clear around the world. Boundaries between business sectors are blurring and, as a result, new domains of growth are emerging,” Mr. Danao said in a statement over the weekend.

“Companies that actively reinvent — by crossing sector boundaries and investing ahead of the curve — are more sustainable and more confident about their future. In today’s environment, waiting for certainty is often the riskiest strategy,” he added.

Asia-Pacific CEOs face growing pressure to reinvent amid waning short-term confidence, with only 21% very or extremely confident in revenue growth for the year ahead — down from 34% in 2025 and trailing the global average of 30% — despite 59% expecting global economic improvement.

This decline stems from elevated risks. Nearly four in 10 CEOs (39%) reported feeling highly or extremely vulnerable to cyber threats, making Asia Pacific the only region in the global survey where cyber risks outrank other challenges, including inflation, macroeconomic instability, and tariffs.

In parallel, the Philippine CEO Survey 2025, released in September last year, found that 52% of Philippine-based CEOs believe their companies will not be economically viable beyond 10 years under current strategies.

The survey also showed that 84% of CEOs view cyber risks as a major threat to their businesses.

Meanwhile, PwC Philippines’ Deals and Corporate Finance Managing Partner Mary Jade Roxas-Divinagracia said local merger and acquisition (M&A) activity slowed in 2025, as CEOs prioritized short-term pressures despite recognizing the need for long-term transformation, with investors targeting sectors with clear growth paths.

PwC’s Global CEO Survey showed that 79% of Asia-Pacific CEOs focus strategic priorities on the short- to medium-term (0-5 years).

This caution is reflected in capital plans: only 28% of CEOs are considering major acquisitions in the next three years, down from 54% last year and below the global 41%, while 60% plan to forgo international investments in the next 12 months, up from 44%.

On artificial intelligence (AI), Asia-Pacific CEOs reported uneven results: 39% noted revenue growth over the past 12 months (ahead of global peers at 30%), 26% saw cost reductions, and 15% achieved both, while roughly half reported little to no financial upside.

“In PwC Philippines’ AI Readiness Survey 2025, overall AI maturity of respondent organizations generally falls within the ‘emerging stage,’ with an average readiness score of 3.2 out of 5 across six pillars: strategy and roadmap, technology and infrastructure, data assets, governance and processes, team and talent, and modelling and operations,” the survey said.

“This suggests that while many Philippine organizations have begun their AI journey, scaling and institutionalization remain the key challenges.”

PwC’s 29^th Global CEO Survey drew from 4,454 CEOs worldwide, including 1,766 from Asia Pacific. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno